President: Rehn Did Not Convey Slovenian Stance

We did not speak in the sense to make an agreement, nor did Olli Rehn come to relay the Slovenian stance, said president Mesic.

ZAGREB, CROATIA - The Croatian president Stjepan Mesic said on Thursday that the European commissioner for expansion, Olli Rehn, with who he met on Wednesday in Zagreb, did not come to convey the stance of the Slovenian side, but proposed that talks be continued and a solution be found that could satisfy both sides.

“We did not speak in the sense to make an agreement, nor did Olli Rehn come to relay the stance of the Slovenian side” said president Mesic at the traditional luncheon after the holidays of the Croatian Attorney’s Chamber (HOK).Olli Rehn came to Zagreb unannounced from Ljubljana, and met with president Mesic and premier Ivo Sanader separately.

According to Mesic, Rehn supported the idea of continuing negotiations to find a solution.

“I said something totally specific: two sides, when they cannot agree, seek a third, and that is the International Court of Justice in The Hague. We pay them, they are unbiased, they implement international conventions, and we accept any decision that court makes” said Mesic.

The European commissioner Rehn mentioned on Wednesday in a conversation with the highest Slovenian officials, ideas that could contribute to the unblocking of Croatian accession negotiations with the European Union, but he did not want to talk about details, but only said that they also need to be conveyed to the Croatian side, and that time is needed for their success.

The Slovenian premier Borut Pahor said on Wednesday, after the meeting with Rehn, that Slovenia still demands that Croatia pull documents from its accession negotiations that allegedly define the borders between the two countries, and to bind themselves to not use them in any proceedings before an arbitration body, in a process that both sides would accept.